Comment on PalmOne m515 Color Handheld by J. Lara

J. Lara — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:00:45 +0000

119 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

Great Product, March 29, 2002

J. Lara (Pasig City Philippines) -

This review is from: PalmOne m515 Color Handheld (Electronics)

I'm a huge fan of the m500 series. Despite the reprehensible screen of the m505 after a few weeks of use, it really isn't that bad. Many people don't realize that the m505 stayed true to the PALM philosophy of mobility and battery life. Being a former Vx user I was spoiled with low battery consumption. Crossing over to color with the Clie N760 the first thing I noticed (after the absolutely amazing screen) was that I had to re-charge a little more often then I was use to. Although it wasn't a daily activity, recharging happened more frequently then before. Similarly that was also the case for the Clie T615. It's really no big deal for me, and to many people but I can see how it can be disconcerting. Expectedly the m515 inherits the long battery life of the m505. Fortunately for PALM they finally found a winner in the m515, unfortunately, the m515 was what the m505 should have been.

The only real reason why anyone would pick the m505 over the m515 is the price. The M515 has a better, brighter screen, and twice as much memory. If you were particular about bundled software the m515 naturally has a better selection.

...

With all things considered the real rival of the m515 is the CLIE T615C. Many real fans of PDA's will tell you that there is no clear winner when comparing the m515 and the T615C. It's a virtual deadlock. To the untrained eye the T615 may be the winner with its dazzling screen but one really has to consider many things, not just the screen when it comes to PDA's. Other then the screen when you consider price, battery life, form factor, and even accessories it's really a VIRTUALLY deadlock. It really comes down to preference. Many times reviews are written with preferences in mind not an objective overview. Generalizations like, "The m515 is the BEST, or the T615 is BEST!" is simply not true. It really comes down to personal preference. Although I value battery life tremendously, I still prefer a better screen and at the end of the day at the very last possible second of the last hour, I would pick the T615 over the m515. I still think the m515 is a great product and would highly recommend it.

I guess the best way to determine what is best for you is really to read a lot of reviews. Read reviews of many different units to get a general overview of what is available. Amazon has a great selection of PALM OS units, read about all of them!! Also go to down to your electronics store and compare the units side by side to get a first hand look.

Bottom line is, there is a GREAT selection of PDA's which appeal to practically everyone. Gone are the days when PDA's were merely toys for computer super geeks (like myself). Everyone gets a PDA and that's the best part of it all.

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Comment on PalmOne m515 Color Handheld by Steven Dennis

Steven Dennis — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 01:17:00 +0000

166 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

Palm finally gets it right..., April 29, 2002

Steven Dennis (Reston, VA USA) -

This review is from: PalmOne m515 Color Handheld (Electronics)

I slammed the earlier version of this device (the m505) for its horrible color screen, but adding active TFT and 16 MB standard makes this a near-perfect PDA. It's nice to know that Palm can learn from their mistakes.

This is functionally identical to the m130, which is cheaper, but you get what you pay for. The m515 has a significantly larger screen and far less bulk than the m130, easily justifying the higher price. With the built-in difficulty of pointing and clicking on a Palm device, size matters.
The life of the lithium-polymer rechargeable battery takes a hit with the new vibrant color screen, but you can still use your m515 fairly heavily for days before you need a recharge.
The only other compromise is the screen is low-res at 160 x 160 pixels. If you want photo-realism, you can buy a Sony Clie with 320 x 320, but those models have worse battery life and cost much more, so it's your choice.
The 515, quite simply, is the slimmest and lightest full-featured color PDA.

Here's a basic product guide:
Palm m100/Handspring Visor -- Bargain basement models with 2 MB of Ram. Good
starter models for the price. Distinguishing characteristics: Visor has significantly larger
screen/expansion slot and fast USB cradle. Palm has slower serial.
Palm m105/Visor Deluxe/Visor Neo -- Workhorse models with 8 MB of Ram (plenty for
monochrome models). Visor has bigger screen/USB/expansion slot. Neo has faster
processor.
Palm m125/Visor Platinum/Visor Pro -- Upper middle class models. Visor has larger
screen. Both have USB/expansion slot.
Palm Vx -- A discontinued classic, not significantly expandable. Smallest full-function PDA with lithium
rechargeable battery. Sharp, full-size mono screen. Slow serial port.
Visor Edge/Clie slimline -- ultraslim mono models sell at a premium, but have durability questions.
Palm m130 -- Fills consumer color niche. Compare to color Clie models, Visor Prism.
Small, bright screen, rechargeable battery, expandable.
Palm m515 -- top of the line. Screen is now brighter, 16 mb included, now we want
higher resolution. Still, a great improvement over the horrible washed-out color on the
Palm m505. Compare with top Sony models/iPaq.
Enjoy!

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